Bleach Christmas 3
by Alex McM
Summary: Its Christmas time again and while Ichigo and Rukia dread their innevitable holiday misfortune tragedy strikes right outside their door. The two decide to nurse an old foe back to good health and ensure they have a Merry Christmas! And so hilarity ensues.
1. Cars and Crisis

**Bleached Christmas 3**

Yes, its that time of year again, so its time again for another sad, yet heart-warming little tale about Christmas. Enjoy and please review.

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><p>1.<p>

It was once again that time of year, where deja vu reared its ugly head and the same events seemed to relay over the top of each other, just with different gifts each time. Where people once received an ill-fitting shirt they would now get a DVD they never wanted or a pair of ill-fitting pants to match. A jolly red giant invaded homes and shopping centres yet unlike most people who break and enter he is greeted with open arms and best wishes. It's a time of superficial greed and materialistic consumerism and something about a birthday.

All over the world, like the year before and the year before that, people young and old were delighted by the prospect of joy and gifts and happiness and other warm and fuzzy crap that makes pessimists want to lodge a bullet deep into their brain. But fuck pessimists! This is a happy occasion! So what if some guy's gonna jump off a bridge? I'm getting presents!

Oh and by the way, in case it was too hard to guess, it was Christmas (Deja Vu?)

This time of year was a blessing for many but a curse for some. For you see, the past several years Christmas had been a little complicated in the sleepy little town of Karakura. There had been all manner of misfortunes befalling an unlucky few and it seemed their luck runs out by the time December rolls around each year.

It was because of this that one young man, with fiery orange hair was pacing back and forth in his room, cursing and grumbling and staring out the window at nothing in particular. Snow was falling, the tiny flakes settling on the glass in a thick spreading mist that sealed in his doubts and concerns for the coming holiday.

In no time the window fogged up and the boy began to shiver. He shuffled over to the old heater in the corner and turned it up as far as it could go, pushing the ageing machine to its limits. While he shuddered and shivered and so forth the cupboard door behind him began to slowly slide along on its rails until a sweet little face was poking out.

"It's gonna be different this year!" the girl, Rukia, chimed like a cheerful little bird.

The boy, Ichigo, wished to believe her, he truly did. But he was less than convinced. He rolled his eyes and leaned forward into the heater's blast of warm air. A low sigh escaped him, fostering unusual glances from his female companion.

The two looked at each other in silence until-

"What?"

"N-Nothing!"

"Don't look at me weird!"

"Sorry Ichigo!" the girl cried, cowering inside the cupboard, retreating into the safety of her makeshift shell. She closed the door almost fully and sat in the darkness, listening intently on her friend's heavy breathing.

"Why?" Ichigo groaned, a question he seemed to be asking to himself more than anyone else.

Nonetheless, Rukia answered him, "I'm sorry I made you upset..."

"No, not you!" he snapped back so quickly he practically cut her off. "I mean this entire thing; this whole holiday season...Every year it's the same. We all try so hard to get into the spirit, to be swept up in that holiday cheer. And yet every year it all comes crashing down. But it's not like that for other families! It's just us, just _me!_" The young man let out a misty exhale as he collapsed onto his bed, bouncing up like a kid on a jumping castle.

"Why me?" he asked again.

Rukia didn't answer that time. She stayed inside the cupboard, hugging her knees close to her chest and burying her face between them. No matter how hard she tried this time of year was always depressing for her. It was an inescapable hell she was forced to suffer through year after year. She had grown used to shouldering the burden alone for the many decades she had lived alone, but now Ichigo was suffering with her. She couldn't stand hurting him and this was only making things worse.

She felt sorry for the poor boy. He was only trying to help her and yet it had instead caused him such trouble. Even when she tried to help him out last year, everything had gone against her and instead she had just caused Ichigo more pain.

They say "Third time lucky," but Rukia doubted this year would be any different...

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><p>A petite young girl was dragged away from the pet store by her parents. She held onto the cages for dear life while her mother and father each took a leg and pulled with all their might, eventually snatching her away from the alluring clutches of the fluffy little creatures within.<p>

The girl protested, but her family coaxed her into their little red car, a compact little thing with a set of furry antlers on the roof and a red nose on the grill. The car was tiny, yet somehow had four doors. It was a cramped little thing, but it held some fond memories for the young family.

"So, you excited for Christmas?" the girl's father asked, his voice dripping with cheer.

The girl bounced on her seat like a child half her age, clapping her hands together and making chirping sounds more befitting of a bird. Her eyes lit up and she squealed, unable to contain her excitement.

"I sure am! I sure am! I love Christmas! I can't wait for Santa to get here; I swear I'll catch him this year!" Determination brimmed up within her, an aura of childish innocence beaming around her.

The girl's parents laughed.

She laughed too.

Everyone was laughing, everyone was smiling.

Then there were other sounds. A horn blaring. Tyres screeching as they melted into the road. Screams of panic. Cries of pain. Metal grating against metal. Glass shattering. Bodies crashing.

Silence.

The girl opened her eyes. The world was spinning, everything blurred as if viewed through a greasy camera lens. There was a foul taste in her mouth, a terrible odour flaring through her nostrils and burning air wheezing through her shrivelled lungs.

It hurt. It really hurt.

She cried out for her mother, a hoarse, feeble little whimper that she could barely hear herself over the raging crackle of fire. She looked around for her mother, scanning the mangled cage of warped steel that had once served as their car. Everywhere she looked there was red, all red.

She cried out again and reached out towards a pile of vehicular debris, shifting it aside. Beneath the stack of twisted metal shards lay a hand, slender and feminine. A chipped wedding ring still clung to the bloodied finger it was wrapped around.

The girl grasped the hand she knew was her mother's and squeezed, softly whispering her name over and over.

There was no reply.

Tears clouded her vision. They stung her eyes and she wanted to wipe them away, but she was too exhausted to even lift a finger now. Defeated, she rolled onto her side and stared out through the blurred haze at a house across the road. Tiny orbs of light stretched across the gutters and dangled down over the roof. The fence outside was also draped in colourful decorations. Streamers, lights, tinsel...

But the thing she noticed most of all, was the soft red glow coming through the window. Through the misted glass she could see a thick pillar of green, overflowing with colour.

"Pretty..." she sighed.

The girl's eyelids grew heavy. She closed them, just for a little while and then she drifted off to sleep.

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><p>Ichigo's sombre contemplation was severed when he heard the screeching of brakes. His eyes shot open and at the cataclysmic thunder of collision he was up and running. He slammed into the window, almost falling out. He scanned the street below and discovered the wreckage. Already little tongues of flame were lapping up at the tangled mess of steel and flesh.<p>

"Rukia, Rukia get out here now!"

"What happened?" she asked as she hopped out from the cupboard.

"There's been an accident outside! Quick, I need your help!" Without thinking he grabbed her hand and bolted downstairs. Rukia didn't want to admit that his grip was hurting her, nor that she felt safe in his hands. She just remained silent as Ichigo dashed through the house searching for a first-aid kit. When he snatched that up he launched himself outside with Rukia still rattling along behind him. She lost her footing in the crisp snow outside and she collapsed face-first. Ichigo helped her up and then together they were off racing towards the crash.

Once outside in the frigid night air they each felt chills run through them, but they pushed on. Ichigo threw himself into the burning wreckage and found a young man, probably only in his early twenties trapped under debris. He struggled to lift the rubble but with Rukia's help they managed to raise it up above the young man, but it was already too late.

There was no way someone could survive his injuries.

Rukia choked back tears and Ichigo grit his teeth as he continued searching. He found more bodies in the second car. All he could tell was that the car would have been red, indicated only by the chipping pain on the crooked frame. Inside there was another man, this time probably in his early thirties. He was curled up around the steering wheel, his face an indistinguishable mess. In a panic Ichigo tore the door free from its snapped hinges and checked his pulse.

It was weak, but he was alive. With renewed hope he lifted the man from the wreckage while Rukia sifted through the first aid kit for the items Ichigo instructed her to find. When he was out in the open Ichigo began treating him with all his knowledge he had learned from his father. He set Rukia the task of finding the rest of the survivors and so Rukia crawled inside the wreckage to resume the search.

In a few minutes she returned, this time with a little girl draped over her shoulders. She gingerly set the poor thing down and checked her heat-beat and her pulse. Rukia yelped at the absence of both and frantically performed CPR.

Ichigo shouted instructions while trying to stem the blood-flow from the father's lacerated neck and face.

Soon enough more people scurried out of their homes, snapped out of their holiday cheer and brought back to bitter taste of reality. They rang for the ambulance and fire brigade while others helped lift the two survivors into the Kurosaki Clinic. One neighbour rushed inside and practically fell into her friends.

"Ichigo, what happened?" this cry came from Tatsuki Arisawa, Ichigo's childhood friend and neighbour from down the street. Sweat was pouring down her forehead despite the freezing air and she panted like an over-worked hound.

"It was a car crash," Rukia explained, "a head-on collision." she gazed down at the unconscious girl and frowned. She was breathing, but she wasn't waking up. It was the best she could do. Her healing kido only worked on spiritual entities and so were useless on humans. Without that she was powerless to help the poor girl or her family.

Paramedics soon arrived and took the father. After an assessment of the girl they decided to keep her there in the clinic as the Hospital was currently overworked as it is. They listed instructions for Ichigo to follow in case of emergency and then they were off. Another ambulance arrived to scour the wreckage but the only other people found within the wreck were pronounced dead at the scene.

Ichigo sat against the wall, his eyes staring vacantly ahead. Rukia clung to him and together they listened to the noises outside. It was almost Christmas. So why could they not hear carols, but crying instead? Why was there so much red and no green? Why was their no laughter, only screams? Why were there no jingling bells, only the crackle of flames?

It was almost Christmas...But there was no joy...


	2. Women Drivers

2.

A sombre silence hung over the Kurosaki household. The living room would have been pitch black were it not for the warm glow of lights around the Christmas tree which stood on silent vigil in the corner of the room.

Ichigo sat up straight, unable to relax. Rukia had fallen asleep long ago and now lay sprawled over his lap like a kitten. Normally he would have been happy at this moment, Hell he's be overjoyed, but he just couldn't smile.

Not now.

Ichigo stayed up all night, staring out the widow, watching the orange glow of sunrise to faze in through the window. As soon as morning came he gingerly placed Rukia to the side and got up. He laid the sleeping shinigami girl down on the couch and placed a soft pillow under her head before leaving the room.

He headed straight for the infirmary out the back of the house and stood over the resting girl. She seemed familiar somehow, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Then again Ichigo had never been good at recognising faces.

The girl was only young, probably still in primary school. She didn't look any older than his own sisters, Yuzu and Karin. She looked so calm, so at peace in her sleep. Light blonde locks swept down over her forehead and around her porcelain white cheeks. She reminded Ichigo of Yuzu and that only made him feel worse. He began to contemplate just what he would do if his own sisters had been in an accident.

The though forced a whimper out of him and it was that single utterance in the otherwise noiseless home that woke the girl from slumber. Her eyelids quivered, then slowly opened revealing soft brown eyes. Her pupils rolled around dazedly for a moment before settling upon the mysterious boy standing watch over her.

Her eyes widened and a shrill scream escaped her. She tried to scramble away from him but only launched herself off the bed and slamming into the floor with a loud thud. In an instant Rukia came rushing in from the other room to check up on the commotion and that only made the girl scream again.

Ichigo stepped forward casually and held his hands out in an offering of peace, "Hey, hey calm down! Shh! You're safe here; we're not going to hurt you-"

"Get away from me!" she cried, scuttling across the floor on all fours and shutting herself inside a medicine cupboard.

"Please come out of there," Ichigo pleaded, "I'm...Well I'm kind of a doctor."

"NO!" the girl snapped back, the sound muffled by the cupboard door.

Ichigo rolled his eyes and grabbed hold of the handle. It wasn't hard to wrestle the door open but in that instant he was met with a fierce slap to the face which sent him stumbling back into Rukia and knocking them both down to the floor.

The girl crawled out and tried to run away but her legs gave out on her and she toppled like a felled tree.

The young adults caught her and tried to calm her down but she kept on resisting.

"No, no no! Don't touch me! Get away! I don't wanna die!"

Ichigo froze. He sagged back onto his knees and just sat there, eyes wide. Rukia tried her best to stop the little girl from squirming but she too felt a surprisingly powerful slap and was rocked back onto her ass. The girl propped herself up against the bed and stood up on shaking legs.

"You!" she snarled, pointing an accusing finger at the two, "I remember you!"

"You do?" Rukia cocked her head to the side like a puppy.

"How could I forget?" the girl screamed, "You tried to kill me! Now you're trying to finish me off! You're both sick! How dare you try and- Ah" She fell down onto one knee and leaned heavily against the bed.

Rukia and Ichigo both shared uneasy glances. Who the hell was this girl? And what was that she said about trying to kill her?

…

The ball dropped. Rukia's face drained of colour and she slowly turned to Ichigo again with a look of utter dread.

"What?" the fiery-haired youth asked calmly.

"Ichigo...It's her!" Rukia whispered harshly, "It's that girl from the pet store!"

"WHAT?" he said...Not so calmly.

"I'm sure it's her," Rukia continued, "Who else could it be?"

"Anyone but her!" Ichigo yelled, not really understanding the concept of inside voices or the fact that the girl in question was sitting only a few metres away.

"What are you doing?" The girl asked dazedly, her head slowly rocking forward as if it were too heavy to keep up, "Are you choosing your next victims already?"

The two had pretty much ignored that, still too engrossed in their own conversation. "It can't be her!" Ichigo yelled, softer now but still too loudly.

"Well how about we find out?"

"How?"

"Simple!" Rukia beamed. She whirled around to face the girl and with a perfect smile she stated matter-of-factly, "I kill kittens."

The little girl's face went a few shades paler, then it went bright red. Then she disappeared in a blur of movement and appeared before Rukia, tackling her and wrapping her tiny hands around her throat.

"You bitch! How dare you kill the innocent little kitties? I'll kill you! I'll make you suffer _their _pain!"

As Rukia was weakly throttled she glanced over to Ichigo and nodded. It was her, no doubt. Ichigo quickly ran up behind her and lifted the girl off of her opponent and held her back form rushing in for another attack.

"Come on, stop acting like a child." he requested feebly. There was little chance of that happening, he knew but he just felt it had to be said.

"Let go of me you creep! I wanna see my mum and dad! Where did you take them?"

"They're..." Ichigo struggled to find the words.

"At the hospital." Rukia decided to find them for him. He shot her a glare but Rukia let it roll of her back and continued, "There was a car accident last night. You mum and dad are in the hospital and since there wasn't enough room we decided to take care of you. We aren't trying to hurt you or anything so please calm down."

For a moment the girl was handling it well, then the tears came. "Let me see them! I have to see them!"

"How?" Ichigo inquired, "It's not like we can walk there and my dad isn't here to give us a lift so-"

"I'll drive!"

"Huh?"

Rukia smiled warmly as she repeated herself, "I said I'll drive."

"You can drive?"

"Of course I can!" she huffed defensively. "Are you saying women can't drive?"

"No, no it's not that. It's just...Well weren't you like my age when you died?"

"Wha-" The pet store girl tried to interject, only to be interrupted herself. Ichigo leaned down over her and signalled for quiet.

"I'll explain another time." He then whirled back around to face Rukia, "And another thing, did they even _have _cars when you were alive?"

"No, but all third seats or higher in the Gotei 13 have been required to take a driving test every ten years ever since 1950."

"Why?" Ichigo said with a sweat-drop sliding down his face.

"Just in case, obviously."

"But you can all fly! You can use shunpo! What possible use is there for driving a car?"

"I can use my skills right now if we stop arguing!" Rukia snarled.

"Ok, ok fine. Let's go."

Ichigo turned to the pet store girl who had never looked more confused and/or terrified in her entire life. She stared blankly at the two and shook her head, "What...What drugs have you been taking? You can't drive if you're intoxicated!"

"Sure you can," Ichigo muttered, pushing the young girl along, "you just can't drive well."

And so they dragged the girl into Isshin's work car, stuffing her in the back seat while Ichigo sat in the front passenger seat and Rukia, in the driver's chair which was so big it made her look like a toddler pretending to drive. The seatbelt was way too large and rather than cross her chest it wrapped around her chin.

For the next twelve minutes Rukia adjusted the seat, the seatbelt, the mirrors and then just sat there as if she was unsure what to do next.

"Well?" Ichigo goaded, "What are you doing? Start the car."

"Uh...Yeah, in a minute." Her lack of confidence wasn't encouraging at all.

Ichigo frowned, "Don't tell me you forgot how to drive!"

"No, I haven't forgotten! It's just been about nine years since I last got in a car. I'm sort of...Overwhelmed with memories-"

"What drugs have you been taking?" The menace in the back seat cried.

"So how do you shinigami actually go on these driver's tests anyway?"

Rukia didn't even look at him as she groaned, "You don't want to know."

"Well actually-"

"You don't want to know!" Rukia floored it. If it were a Delorean the car might have disappeared and travelled through time before it even got out of the driveway. Instead it jetted across the road and swerved onto the front lawn of the house across the street. It wheeled around just before crashing through the front window and then Rukia put the pedal to the medal and raced off across the footpath.

"SLOW DOWN! USE THE BRAKES!" Ichigo squealed desperately as he was thrown around in his seat, feeling like a crash test dummy. "You just ran through a red light! You just ran through a pedestrian crossing! You just...You missed the road! This is a shopping centre!"

"Stop! Stop, for the love of god please stop!" The pet store girl added to Ichigo's cried creating a pure cacophony inside the car and a thunderous roar from the over-worked engine outside. There was black exhaust spewing out the back in thick blanketing clouds. The tyres screeched as Rukia rounded corners without applying the brake at all.

Soon enough they arrived outside the hospital. The car came to such a sudden stop that the pet store girl was thrown from her seat and rolled into the front with her face squashed up against the windscreen. Ichigo had somehow been turned upside down and now sat on his head with one leg out the side window and the other curled around his torso between his arms which had become tied together in the process.

Rukia seemed entirely unaffected by the wild ride. Not even a hair had been messed up throughout the cross country detour. She giggled and scratched the back of her head, appearing a little too proud considering the insurmountable cost of damage she had caused. She took notice of Ichigo's current state and clapped like a little kid.

"Wow, that's a cool pose Ichigo!"

Ichigo just rolled his eyes, "I'm so sick of hearing that..."

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><p><span>Wasn't that fun? Now how about you get into the holiday spirit and review? Studies have shown that gift-giving has positive physical and neurological side effects so come on! Review!<span>


	3. Spoiler Alert

3.

After taking the time to gather themselves the weary trio set foot outside the miraculously unscathed car. There was not even a scratch! How that was even possible was anyone's guess but there were more pressing matters to attend to.

The air outside was frigid, a crisp chill settling upon them. The young girl from the pet store shivered uncontrollably and so Rukia wrapped part of her coat around the child to shield her form the freezing wind. Ichigo _could _have tried doing that but the results probably would have turned out quite badly so he let Rukia do it instead.

Together they marched through the ankle-deep layers of snow that coated the ground and made their way up to the great sliding door out the front. They practically fell through the door and with dreadful slowness they made their way to the receptionist's desk looking like a bunch of survivors at the end of an action movie.

"Yes, how may I help you?" the middle aged attendant at the desk asked in a soothing voice that could put toddlers to sleep.

"Um, hello. I'm Ichigo Kurosaki from the Kurosaki clinic," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small card and the attendant nodded, "So, we transferred some patients to you yesterday, from a car crash. I was wondering if I could see how they are doing. You see this is their daughter." Ichigo gestured to the little girl and waited for a response.

The attendant checked a computer and then stared at him. "Okay, please wait over there. I'll get someone to meet with you shortly."

The trio all bowed in thanks and collapsed into the row of chairs along the far wall. The waiting room was crammed full of coughing, crying and cold civilians, far too many. After Ichigo and co had sat down there was only one spare seat but that was taken up mere seconds later by a wheezing old man.

The girl shied away from a dishevelled and emaciated man beside her and curled up against Rukia. Ichigo felt oddly jealous. It didn't make sense. She had no problems with Rukia and yet she still despised him for the whole bunny fiasco two years ago. Why the Hell couldn't she let that go? And Rukia was the one who put a gun to her head and threatened to kill her! All he had done was jumble up a few words that were misconstrued and led her to believe he wilfully participated in bestiality.

Ichigo slapped himself in the face to curb that unsettling train of thought. Besides why in the world was he getting agitated over a little girl he doubted he would ever meet again unless he desperately wanted a pet bunny (Which from experience was very unlikely)

All he had to do was stay here until her parents are well enough to leave and then that's it. She can go home with her family and he can relax for the first Christmas in a _long _time! Too easy, he thought to himself.

Eventually a man dressed in the sterile green uniform of a surgeon approached and waved Ichigo aside. The girl instinctively followed but the doctor held out a hand in signal for her to stop.

"Sorry, I just need to have a word with Ichigo at the moment." His face seemed rock solid, not a single movement at all. He was dead serious. Ichigo's eyes narrowed but he didn't dare she any sign of panic around the girl. He slowly turned to her and patted her shoulder, surprised that she didn't recoil from him at his touch.

"Don't worry we just have to sort out some business, doctor to doctor. I'll be right back."

The girl smiled and returned to her seat, chatting excitedly with Rukia. From a distance they almost looked like siblings.

Stone faced and anxious, Ichigo set off with the doctor. They passed through the crowds in the hall and moved into a long empty corridor, away from the others. The lights there were dim, casting a weak white glow over the two.

"Mr Kurosaki, I don't know how to tell you this, but..." the doctor struggled to find the words, "That girl, her parents...They were pronounced deceased last night. I'm sorry."

Ichigo just stood there, seemingly unfazed. But slowly it sank in and he fell against the wall. "What? No, no you can't be serious!"

"I'm afraid it's the truth Mr Kurosaki. Mrs Satomi was pronounced dead at the scene, her husband Mr Satomi was placed in intensive care but he did not pull through the night. The driver of the other car was also-"

"No..." Ichigo wasn't listening anymore. He held his head in his hands and grit his teeth fighting the urge to smash the doctor through the wall. "Why didn't you call? Why didn't you tell me? Why didn't you let me know so I wouldn't bring her here! Now what am I supposed to do? She's waiting to see her mother and father!"

"I apologise but there was nothing we could do. We have been working all night with no rest. This has been the first time I've been out of the emergency ward since yesterday morning."

"But what am I supposed to tell her?" Ichigo cried.

"If you wish, I can handle it-"

"No! Doctors are scary, especially when they are delivering bad news. I'll do it. Just..." the downhearted young man trailed off and stared down at the floor. He sat there in silent contemplation for some time until he finally took a deep breath and turned back the way they had come through. "Very well, thanks doctor. You can go back now. I'll handle this."

"Once again, I'm truly sorry Mr Kurosaki."

Ichigo walked off.

* * *

><p>Rukia and the girl were waiting eagerly for Ichigo's return. His figure soon emerged from the crowd and headed towards them, drifting along aimlessly like a ghost. The girl sprang up from her seat and bolted over but Ichigo barely took notice of her until he was back with Rukia. He glanced at them both and then nodded to the door.<p>

"Let's go outside for a second. I need some fresh air."

The girl shrugged and obediently shuffled past the crowds and out the door. It was still a chilly morning and so Ichigo took off his jacked and draped it over his young companion. Without a word he headed over to a small bench near the garden. The girls followed without question, at least until they sat down.

"So what's going on? Are they bringing mum and dad out for us?"

Ichigo made a face as if he had just been jabbed with a needle. Every nerve in his pace pinched and spasmed into a painfully obvious wince. "About that...Uh...Hang on, I'm sorry, I never asked your name?"

The girl just stared up at him, her cheeks turning pink. She averted her gaze and mumbled, "Yumi..."

"Yumi huh? That's a nice name. Anyway, Yumi...Your mum and dad are...Well..." He looked over to Rukia for help but she was just as confused. She didn't understand either. He glanced up at the sky but there were no answers to be found in the clouds that spread like a thick blanket over the grey sky.

"What's going on?" Yumi asked, a hint of fear in her voice.

_Shit! She can tell I'm uneasy! She'll piece it together herself in a minute if I don't-_

"Are they still asleep?" Rukia asked, unsure of herself. She was just guessing, taking a shot in the dark. But it wasn't that far off. In fact it helped.

"Uh...Yeah, they are asleep, kind of..."

Yumi's face fell, "Oh, I get it..."

Ichigo choked on the fresh, chilled air and sputtered like a broken down car. "W-What?"

Yumi looked up with a frown, "I understand. They're asleep and we have to wait until they wake up, right?"

For a moment that failed to register in Ichigo's mind. He spaced out for a second and lost his footing, stumbling backward like an idiot and falling into the garden. He quickly scuttled out and jumped up to his feet, "Uh...Um...Yeah, that's right!"

Yumi sighed and sat down on the bench, her gaze cast out towards the large tree on the other side of the path. It was fully decorated with tinsel and baubles and lights and stars and all sorts of ornaments. Even in the morning light it shone with an otherworldly radiance. A familiar, comforting warmth emanated from it, like an open fire on a cold winter day.

Yumi sat there, mesmerised by the tree, unknowingly muttering to herself.

"Last Christmas...I was almost killed. A psychopath with a gun tried to steal from the pet store. They put a gun to my head and threatened to end my life. When everything was over I was so scared, so, so scared. I felt like everyone was out to get me. I was too terrified to move away from the police."

"Then my parents arrived. They both had to leave work and rushed over to the store to see me. As soon as I saw their faces, as soon as they hugged me and spoke to me, I was reassured. I was safe. All that fear just washed away and I felt so happy. That Christmas they were so relieved that I wasn't hurt by the accident, but they were still worried so they stayed by my side the whole time. I even slept in their bed at night. Dad snored but I didn't mind. It kept me awake so I thought I might be able to catch Santa."

Yumi chuckled to herself, a charming little laugh, so unlike the irritating little creature in the pet store. In this moment she actually seemed human. All of Ichigo's bad memories were eclipsed by her gentle, sweeping laughter. But that wasn't helping. He couldn't take it any longer. The truth was begging to come out but he forced himself to bite his tongue.

Yumi continued, "I still ended up falling asleep. I never caught Santa in the end. But that didn't matter. That Christmas was the best day of my life. We don't have many relatives. Most live overseas or they passed away, so it was just me and my parents for the whole day. It was wonderful. This time around I want to do something special for them, to repay them for making me feel so safe, so calm, so happy."

She smiled a beaming smile and her eyes lit up like candles, "As soon as they wake up I'm gonna give them a great big-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAARRRRGH!"

Yumi and Rukia both jumped at the sudden outburst from the young boy with fiery orange hair. Ichigo had rocked forward on the bench and was tearing away at his hair in frustration, unable to contain himself any longer.

"Ichigo..." Rukia began, reaching out to comfort him, but he swatted her hand away and cursed.

"Why me? I thought it was gonna be different this year? Why do I have to do this? I'm used to having a fucked up Christmas, but I don't want to ruin this day for someone else!"

"What are you talking about?" Rukia asked, "You've done nothing wrong."

"No, but I'm about to!" Ichigo snapped back. He turned on Yumi and stared deep into her eyes. She looked uneasy, but Ichigo couldn't restrain himself any more. The truth flowed from his mouth uncontrollably like a busted tap.

"Yumi, your parents are dead."

Silence followed.

* * *

><p><span>Such tragedy, but there are still a few days till Christmas! Can Ichigo and Rukia turn this upsetting holiday around? Find out in the next few chapters!<span>


End file.
